What kind of survey for a new build?

Trinabelle1970

I'm in the process of buying a new build and it's been 16 years since I last moved!
The mortgage valuation has been done and I have my mortgage offer, but I'm unsure if I need to get a structural survey done.
I'm planning on getting a professional snagging survey done, but I'm wondering if I should still pay for a "Homebuyers Report" level survey as the house will have the 10 year NHBC warranty?
Any advice would be highly appreciated!
Thanks.

user1977

In short, no. 

Noneforit999

Assuming its a new build as in brand new and never lived in then no, you don't need a survey.

You would be best to get a snagging company in to check what needs sorting out but a homebuyers survey will be a waste of money considering most developers give you 2 years to have any issues fixed and the NHBC will cover any structural issues if any crop up which is doubtful.

RelievedSheff

We didn't bother. 

GixerKate

We didn't bother either, its brand new and any snags should be fixed by the developer providing they are reported within the relevant period (2 years for us)

Robbo66

Personally I would get a full survey done especially after having seen some of the new property snagging videos on youtube, absolutely shocking

tinytiddles

You don’t need to with a new build; luckily my hubby is a surveyor so we didn’t bother with a snagging survey post completion but others in my area have had them done. The other thing is that most developers won’t allow a surveyor working on the purchaser’s behalf to enter the property prior to completion. 

You hear lots of nightmare stories on social media and in the news but most new builds are built to a good standard and the snags are very minor so don’t worry 😊 For me the biggest thing was whether they would come back or not if something went wrong, our developer (which is one of the major house builders) has been absolutely brilliant from start to finish so there are good ones out there. 

andyf1980

I would get a snagging survey done. Money well spent for us as it picked up things like insufficient cavity wall insulation that there’d be no way of telling otherwise. 

eddddy

An NHBC warranty includes a 2 year builders warranty that covers most snags/defects. Years 2 to 8 is major structural problems only.

So you could do both or either of these:

• A snagging survey when you first move in, to identify defects that are apparent straight away
• A snagging survey shortly before the 2 years is up, to identify any defects that have shown up - so that you can report them to the builder before the 2 year time limit 

HopefulFTB22

Sorry to jump on this thread - what are your views on a survey for a 3-year-old property?

lookstraightahead

Robbo66 said:

Personally I would get a full survey done especially after having seen some of the new property snagging videos on youtube, absolutely shocking

Me too - I would for any house at all because it flags up potential issues, even if the builder is responsible